A much-reduced
Lotus Sport Cadena team arrived at the Kent Circuit for the weekend’s
proceedings, but there was still very much a job to be done. With
Barrie and Paul Whight otherwise engaged with Barrie’s wedding
in Suffolk (which Gavan Kershaw and much of the team were also attending),
just one car, two drivers, and a handful of mechanics were on hand.

George Mackintosh
and Sam Blogg were still leading the GT3 championship and were coming
under increasing threat from Barwell Motorsport’s Leo Machitski.
The Russian-born driver was so determined to get the title that
he had raced a Tech 9 Porsche 997 at Rockingham, solely to get points
when Barwell was unable to organise an Aston Martin for him at short
notice.

At Brands Hatch
he was back in his DBRS9; a car possibly better suited to the Brands
Hatch Grand Prix circuit than the Lotus Exige. It was going to be
tough for the Cadena pair.

A few days prior
to the race, the entry list indicated that six cars were entered
in GT3 and that consequently full points would be on offer. However,
just a couple of days later the RPM Porsche 997 dropped out after
it became apparent that the parts needed to repair the gearbox wouldn’t
arrive in time. The half-points now available ensured that it would
be almost impossible for Machitski to win the title at Brands; the
only possible scenario for that to happen would be two wins for
Machitski, coupled with no points for Cadena - and anyway a small
entry for the final round that would mean half points again.

But Mackintosh
and Blogg have finished in every race so far and collected points
at every race, and there was no guarantee of the Aston having a
trouble-free run. During Friday testing at Brands Hatch, Martin
Stretton had a huge off at Westfield in the other Barwell Aston
Martin, which caused extensive damage to the car. So much damage,
in fact, that Barwell was forced to do a very rapid deal with Prodrive
in order to be able to field two cars in the race. If Machitski’s
car had a similar off on this very quick circuit, the consequences
could be similarly destructive.

The same applied
to the Lotus, of course, but George Mackintosh and Sam Blogg were
enjoying themselves after testing and free practice; “It’s
a fantastic circuit,” said the Scot. Despite living in London
and having raced on the Indy circuit several times before, this
was his first taste of the Grand Prix version. “It’s
not an easy circuit, but it’s very rewarding when you get
it right.” Sam Blogg on the other hand, was a relative veteran;
“I did ten laps in a Noble in a Britcar race last year,”
he reflected, “but then the engine blew up and that was that!”

The two qualifying
sessions didn’t go as well as hoped, with tyre selection being
the crucial factor. Sam Blogg’s session started dry but ended
wet, while for George Mackintosh the reverse was true. The results
were pretty much even, with the two drivers setting fastest times
a second apart and with the car well down the grid on each occasion.
But this was never going to be about flat-out dicing for the lead;
this was about points and nothing else.

The important
thing was that the car was going well – and the engine was
well on its way to 4,000 racing kilometres – and Mackintosh
paid tribute to the contribution of his co-driver. “It’s
been great racing with Sam this year,” he began. “His
natural ability is coming through all the time and the gap between
us is growing, but he sensibly doesn’t stretch the car too
much; he keeps it within its comfort zone.

“It’s
been a big learning curve for us this year, but it’s been
a fascinating experience and we get to drive at fantastic circuits
like Pau and Brands Hatch.”

By the time
the first race of the weekend started, the circuit was dry and the
sun was threatening to break out. Sam Blogg would start, but he
had to look a long way in front of him to spot any of the other
GT3 runners. As it turned out, Blogg would be involved in several
battles for track position, but against either GTC or GT2 opposition.

The first lap
was a good one and the Lotus driver got passed the Skater Motorsport
Marcos LM500 and David Dove Ferrari before he crossed the line again.
Next on his list were the Beechdean Ferrari 360 and the Jaz Motorsport
Porsche 996 and he was past them before ten laps had been completed.
He now found himself having to fend off the JMH Ferrari 360 of Phil
Burton, but had also caught up with the much more powerful Mosler
MT900R of Kevin Riley.

The gap was
down to just a second, but before he was able to challenge, the
pit stop window opened and the cars either side of him dived in.
Blogg stayed out for a further four laps before handing the Exige
over to George Mackintosh.

The Lotus’
task had been made easier by the demise of the #88 Barwell Motorsport
Aston Martin on lap 16, and with the other GT3s a long way further
up the road, Mackintosh just drove a sensible pace to bring the
car home. There were no other retirements in the class and so the
car finished fourth in GT3 and 14th overall. As expected, Leo Machitski
and Jonathan Cocker won the GT3 race, but could only close the gap
to the Lotus duo by 2.5 points.

“That
was a brilliant race,” enthused Blogg, “the best one
I’ve had so far. I qualified near the back but overtook a
few cars and the Lotus was consistent all the way through.”

“I thoroughly
enjoyed it,” added Mackintosh. “Just getting your brain
around this circuit is a challenge, but it is absolute fun.”

The only issue
of the race concerned brakes, but a system check during the ten
minute warm-up session on Sunday morning was enough to put to rest
any worries, and the drivers relaxed ahead of the second race. They
were joined by a thoroughly off-duty Gavan Kershaw, who had come
along to see how his fellow Cadena runners were getting on. The
mood was improved even further by the realisation that the previous
day’s results had been enough to clinch the GT3 Teams’
title for Lotus Sport Cadena.

The second race
of the weekend was probably even more dramatic than the rain-affected
Donington round had been, but with this one taking place on a lovely
late-summer afternoon in front of a good crowd. Three safety cars
punctuated the race, but they worked in the team’s favour
and George Mackintosh had a start as good as Sam Blogg’s had
been the previous afternoon.

Starting from
26th spot on the grid, the Lotus passed three cars on the first
lap and the Scot began to reel in the Skater Marcos. The first safety
car (which was required following a crash that saw the Ascari exit
the race) bunched the field and Mackintosh pounced at the restart,
taking the Marcos before setting off after the RSS Porsche. Just
before the second safety car period, the Lotus made its fifth overtaking
move in ten laps.

The pit window’s
opening coincided with the safety car and Mackintosh was in without
delay.

Blogg found
that he was unable to resist the temptation to race and had taken
two more GTC Porsches soon after the restart; and when the third
safety car bunched up the field again, he could see the Trackspeed
GT3 Porsche 997 of David Ashburn ahead of him. Knowing that there
were points to be gained, Blogg bundled his way past on lap 23 and
stayed ahead.

He backed off
a little later in the race and allowed the leading GTC cars past
as they battled each other, but came home in a comfortable and excellent
second place.

“26th
to 13th and then 13th to seventh; not bad is it?” smiled a
delighted George Mackintosh. “It was a great race, just really
good fun.”

This had been
a hugely uplifting end to a very successful weekend for the car
and team. The #20 pairing now head off to the final race at Silverstone
with half a point lead over Machitski. Just one, two-hour, race
remains in the 2007 championship and it is all to play for. There
is likely to be a large GT3 entry for the final race, including
the two missing Cadena Exiges, but if the Barwell car fails to finish,
or finishes behind the #20 Lotus, the drivers’ championship
heads towards Norfolk.